Toothbrush with removable head



Aug. 1, 1950 c. E. SOULE TOOTHBRUSH WITH REMOVABLE HEAD Filed Jan. 10, 1947 Patented Aug. 1, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,517,045 TOOTHBRUSH WITfl REMOVABLE HEAD Chester EL Soule, Reseda, Calif. Application January 10, 1947, Serial No. 721,194

2 Claims. 1

This invention relates to toothbrushes, and more particularly to a toothbrush of the type having a removable and replaceable brush structure.

A main object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved toothbrush of the removable brush type, said toothbrush being very simple in structure, easy to manipulate and being arranged so that the brush may be mounted in either a normal or reversed position.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved toothbrush of the removable brush type which is inexpensive to manufacture, simple to assemble and neat in appearance.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description and claims, and from the accompanying drawings, and wherein:

Figure l is a side elevational view of a toothbrush constructed in accordance with the present invention.

Figure 2 is a rear elevational view of the toothbrush of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a top plan view of a brush employed with the toothbrush of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is an end view of the brush of Figure 3.

Figure 5 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view taken on line 5-5 of Figure 2 with the brush removed from the toothbrush.

Referring to the drawings, ll designates the body of the toothbrush, the lower portion of said body being conventional in form. The upper or head portion of the body, designated generally at [2, is angled rearwardly with respect to the lower portion. Portion I2 is formed with an elongated opening 13. At the bottom of the opening l3, portion i2 is split at its central plane, as shown at [4, and the lower portions of the segments thereof diverge at [5 and form a generally pentagonal opening lEi having substantially parallel side walls. Slidably engaging the outer surface of body II is a sleeve member I! formed with an internal wedge element I 8. Body H is made of semi-rigid resilient material such as hard rubber or other suitable flexible plastic material, so that by moving sleeve member ll upwardly and forcing wedge element 18 against the divergent segment portions at E5, the top opening l3 may be distorted so that it is substantially widened at its base.

The inner side wall surfaces of opening l3 are formed with downwardl flaring grooves l9, I9. Receivable in opening I3 is a brush 20 having downwardly flaring side ribs 2 1, 2| adapted to seat in the flared grooves l9, l9 and to retain the brush 2 20 in the opening l3 when the camming sleeve I1 is withdrawn from its wedging position.

i From the above description, it will be seen that camming sleeve I! is moved upwardly when it is desired to expand opening [3 to a release position. This allows a brush 20 to be inserted in opening l3 or to be removed therefrom when the brush is to be replaced or reversed to the dotted position shown in Figure 1. By moving sleeve member I! downwardly from its camming position, the opening I3 is permitted to resume its normal configuration, wherein a brush 20 will be locked in place by the engagement of the side ribs 2|, 2! in the grooves l9, l9.

The brush may be mounted either in a first position, shown in full view in Figure 1, or 'in a reversed position, shown in dotted view, whereby two angles of orientation of the brush with respect to the body of the toothbrush are provided. This feature greatly enhances the effectiveness of the toothbrush, since it enables the bristles to engage portions of teeth which would be otherwise inaccessible were only one angled position of the brush element with respect to the body of the toothbrush provided.

While a specific embodiment of a toothbrush structure has been disclosed in the foregoing description, it will be understood that various modifications within the spirit of the invention may occur to those skilled in the art. Therefore, it is intended that no limitations be placed on the invention other than as defined by the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A brush comprising a handle having a deformable head portion provided with a longitudinal slit terminating at one end at the apex of a V-shaped opening formed in said handle and at its opposite end in a longitudinally elongated brush accommodating opening in said head portion of substantial width having substantially straight longitudinal edges, said straight edges being formed with longitudinal slots, said slots progressing in depth toward the end of said brush accommodating opening adjacent to said slit, a brush comprising a plate having bristles on a side thereof, said brush plate having longitudinally extending ribs projecting from the opposite longitudinal edges thereof, the laterally outward edges of said ribs flaring from flush relation with the edges of said brush plate at one end to project substantial lateral distances beyond the edges of said brush plate at the other end in substantial conformance with the progressive depth of the slots in the longitudinal edges of said brush aocommodating opening, and a wedge mounted on said handle for longitudinal movement toward and awa from said head portion, said wedge having a portion within said V-shaped opening, said wedge being movable in one direction to engage said Wedge portion with the apex end of said V-shaped opening and thereby spread said slit in a manner to spread the end of said brush receiving opening adjacent to said slit to permit insertion of said brush plate in said brush receiving opening with said ribs in position for reception in the slots in the edges of said brush receiving opening, said wedge being movable in another direction to permit said slit and the adjacent end of said brush receiving opening to contract and confine said brush plate ribs conformably in said slots so as to securely assemble said brush on said head portion.

2. A brush comprising a handle having a deformable head portion provided with a longitudinal slit terminating at one end at the apex of a V-shaped opening formed in said handle and at its opposite end in longitudinally elongated brush accommodating opening in said head portion of substantial width having substantially straight longitudinal edges, said straight edges being formed with longitudinal slots, said slots progressing in depth toward the end of said brush accommodating opening adjacent to said slit, a brush comprising a plate having bristles on a side thereof, said brush plate having longitudinally extending ribs projecting from the opposite longitudinal edges thereof, the laterally outward edges of said ribs flaring from flush relation with the edges of said brush plate at one end to project substantial lateral distances beyond the edges of said brush. plate at the other end in substantial conformance with the progressive depth or the slots in the longitudinal edges of said brush accommodating opening, and a wedge mounted on said handle for longitudinal movement toward and away from said head portion, said wedge having a portion within said V-shaped opening, said wedge being movable in one direction to engage said wedge portion with the apex end of said V-shaped opening and thereby spread said slit in a manner to spread the end of said brush receiving opening adj aoent to said slit to permit insertion of said brush plate in said brush receiving opening with said ribs in position for reception in the slots in the edges of said brush receiving opening, said Wedge being movable in another direction to permit said slit and the adjacent end of said brush receiving opening to contract and confine said brush plate ribs conformably in said slots so as to securely assemble said brush on said head portion, the longitudinal edges of said brush receiving opening being substantially parallel, and said brush plate being substantially similar in length and width to said brush receiving opening, whereby when in place in said brush receiving opening, a side or said brush plate and the related side of said head portion form a substantially unbroken surface.

CHESTER E. SOULE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 428,836 Fox May 27, 1890 1,260,258 Doolittle Mar. 19, 1918 2,290,357 Rickenbacher July 21, 1942 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 180,343 Germany Feb. 28, 1905 230,614 England Mar. 19, 1925 

